Disposal of animal carcasses and other biological waste material is generally accomplished by sterilization/burial or incineration. Burial procedures suffer from the obvious difficulties involved with vanishing waste disposal sites, odor and potential for release of pathogenic materials from incomplete sterilization or decontamination processes. Incineration provides significant volume reduction (up to 97%), but toxins and heavy metals may be concentrated in the incinerator ash, producing toxic waste. Toxins, including dioxins, halogenated hydrocarbons, and mercury vapor are produced by the combustion process and may be released into the atmosphere since incineration of biological materials currently does not require scrubbers for treatment of effluent gases. Destruction of pathogens by incineration may not be complete since combustion may not be uniform.